"The host exclaimed with delight: The dove has changed into a hawk, the sparrow into a clam. How gratifying! You have associated with a friend in the orchid room and have become as straight as mugwort growing among hemp. If you will truly give consideration to the troubles I have been describing and put entire faith in these words of mine, then the winds will blow gently, the waves will be calm, and in no time at all we will enjoy bountiful harvests." -- Nichiren

Daisaku Ikeda is the Devedatta of the modern age and the Third of the Three Powerful Enemies described in the Exhortation to Hold Firm Chapter [13] of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Daishonin teaches"

“However, they do not look like those referred to in the sutra: ‘monks who wear robes and stay in tranquility.’ People do not suppose that they are ‘revered by the people as though they were arhats with Six Superhuman Powers.’ Or, should I say that they are those who are ‘more cunning and less likely to reveal their faults?” — Opening of the Eyes

Who could be more cunning than a monk who states, “I am not a monk, I am a layman.”? At this time, it is the business suited president of the SGI who is looked upon by his disciples and the ignorant non-Buddhists with whom he holds dialogues as a living Buddha or one having superhuman powers ["He could read my thoughts"; "Rainbows follow him wherever he goes"; "How could anyone but a living Buddha collect so many awards and honors?"; "Who but a Buddha could write so many hundreds of books?"; "DaiSensei"].

Regarding the Soka Gakkai:

“…Then, as laymen, they work to destroy the teachings of Buddhism. Men of this kind steal and usurp the correct teachings of Buddhism and use them to supplement and bolster the erroneous writings…” — Opening of the Eyes

The Soka Gakkai steals and usurps the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra to supplement and bolster the erroneous non-Buddhist SGI teachings of Human Revolution and Oneness of Mentor and Disciple. They [Daisaku Ikeda and his high paid lieutenants] steal and usurp Namu Myoho renge kyo in order to enrich themselves.

Question: Why should one discuss the relative worth of the various sutras?

Answer: The seventh volume of the Lotus Sutra states: “A person who can accept and uphold this sutra is likewise foremost among all living beings.” The “Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra lists ten comparisons indicating that this is the greatest of all the sutras preached by the Buddha in the past, present, and future. Of these ten comparison, the eighth is followed by the passage just quoted, and thus it becomes evident that the Buddha’s intention was not only to establish the superiority of the Lotus Sutra in comparison to the other sutras, but also to indicate that the votary of the Lotus Sutra is superior to all other kinds of persons.

The votaries of the Mahāvairochana Sutra and the other sutras are like the various mountains or stars or rivers and streams or the subjects of the various rulers. But the votaries of the Lotus Sutra are like Mount Sumeru, the sun and moon, or the great ocean.

And yet the world today despises and makes light of the Lotus Sutra, treating it like dirt or like a lowly subject of the ruler, while it respects and honors the erroneous men of the True Word teaching, awarding them the title of Teacher of the Nation and treating them like gold or like kings.

So the country has become full of persons of overbearing arrogance, causing the blue heavens to blaze with anger and the yellow earth to bring forth strange calamities. As small streams come together until they break down the walls and moats, so the sorrow and distress of the common people will pile up until it destroys the nation.

Question: In the Buddhist commentaries and the other types of non-Buddhist writings, are there any passages setting forth this view?

Answer: The memorial submitted to Emperor T’ai-tsung by the historian official Wu Ching states: “I make so bold as to observe that the government administered by Emperor T’ai-tsung, ruler in both civil and military affairs, has no equal in excellence, however far back we may seek in history. Even Yao of T’ang, Shun of Yü, Yü of the Hsia dynasty, T’ang of the Yin dynasty, Kings Wen and Wu of the Chou, Emperors Wen and Ching of the Han—none of these could compare to him.” Looking at the words of the memorial, we may wonder if Emperor T’ai-tsung was not a highly conceited ruler. But in fact he is praised because the skill and excellence with which he governed surpassed that of all these earlier sages mentioned in the memorial.

The Great Teacher Chang-an, speaking in praise of T’ien-t’ai, says: “Even the great scholars of India were not in a class with him, and the Chinese teachers—well, one need hardly mention them. This is no idle boast—the doctrine he taught was indeed of such excellence.” And the Dharma Teacher Ts’ung-i also praises him, saying, “Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu cannot compare with T’ien-t’ai.”

The Great Teacher Dengyō has these words of praise: “The Tendai Lotus school is superior to the other schools because of the sutra that it is founded on. Therefore, in declaring its superiority, it is not simply praising itself and disparaging others. I hope that gentlemen of wisdom will examine the matter of sutras and on that basis decide which school they will follow.”

And he also says, “Those who can uphold the Lotus are foremost among living beings. This is borne out by the words of the Buddha himself. How could it be mere self-praise?”

Now if I may state my own humble view on the matter, I would say that Shan-wu-wei, Kōbō, Jikaku, Chishō, and the others all not only go against the intentions of the Buddha, but are persons of grave error who steal from the Law and contradict the Great Teacher Dengyō. Therefore Shan-wu-wei was reprimanded by King Yama, Jikaku has no grave mound, [Kōbō’s] disciples declare that he entered a “state of deep meditation” [instead of acknowledging his death], and the temples [of Jikaku’s and Chishō’s lineage] are repeatedly visited by great fires or massive attacks from soldiers.

The old texts tell us that if one is a temporal manifestation of a Buddha or a bodhisattva, then one’s dead body will not suffer shame, and yet they met with such a fate!

Question: As was done by the six older schools of Buddhism, did the True Word school ever submit a document in which it acknowledged its inferiority to the Tendai school?

Answer: Such a document will be found at the end of the tenth volume of The Annotations on “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.” The Great Teacher Dengyō wrote A Clarification of the Schools Based on T’ien-t’ai’s Doctrine and included such material. Those who have eyes would accordingly do well to open the text and see what it says.

It is my hope that scholars of this latter age will heed the sage words of Miao-lo and Dengyō and will put no trust in the crass statements of Shan-wu-wei or Jikaku. And I hope that the followers of my own teachings will give deep thought to this matter. Do not let fear of others in your present existence lead you to do something that will invite evil consequences in an existence to come.

"Question: The Flower Garland school propounds the doctrine of the five teachings and declares all the other sutras to be inferior, and theFlower Garland Sutra, superior. The True Word school puts forth the doctrine of the ten stages of the mind, declaring that all the other sutras, being exoteric teachings, are inferior, while the True Word school, because it represents the esoteric teachings, is superior. The Zen school rejects all the sutras as belonging to the realm of written teachings and asserts “a separate transmission outside the sutras, independent of words or writing.” Because enlightenment, they say, is gained merely by sitting and facing the wall, the Zen school alone is superior. The Pure Land school sets forth two kinds of practices, correct and sundry. The Lotus Sutra and the various other sutras are rejected as belonging to the category of sundry practices, and hence one is urged to “discard, close, ignore, and abandon” them. The three Pure Land sutras, on the other hand, they claim, are adapted to the people’s capacity and are wonderful sutras belonging to the realm of correct practices. Thus each school in its conceit maintains its own biased attachment. But which one represents the true intention of Shakyamuni Buddha?Answer: Each school declares its own sutra to be superior, all other sutras being dismissed as inferior, and on this basis labels itself the correct school. But their arguments are based merely upon the words of the teachers and not upon the Buddha’s teaching. Only the Lotus Sutrawas proclaimed superior by the Buddha himself when he expounded the simile of the five flavors, likening them to the teachings of the five periods. He also declared that of all the various sutras that he “has preached, now preaches, and will preach,” in terms of the path of attaining Buddhahood, none could rival the Lotus Sutra. These statements are in truth the Buddha’s own golden words.

Therefore, when people declare that their own sutra surpasses the Lotus Sutra, or that their own school is superior to the Lotus school, they are like persons of inferior rank calling someone of high rank a commoner, or retainers whose families have for generations been in the service of a certain lord turning against him and declaring him to be their servant. How can they escape grave retribution?

On the other hand, the assertion that the various other sutras rank below the Lotus Sutra is not based upon the words of the teachers, but is plainly stated in the text of the sutra itself. In this respect, it is like a ruler asserting that he is superior to his subjects, or a samurai calling a commoner a person of low rank. What penalty could this possibly bring? This sutra, the Lotus, represents the true intention of the Buddha and the prime concern of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo."

These passages mean that only this Lotus Sutra represents the truth."Question:As I understand it, a teacher is someone who has grasped the central meaning of the sutras and treatises and who writes commentaries explaining them. If that is so, then it is only natural that the teachers of the various schools should each formulate doctrines according to their own understanding, and on that basis write their commentaries, establish principles, and dedicate themselves to the attainment of enlightenment. How could such efforts be in vain? To insist that the Lotus Sutra alone holds the position of absolute superiority is to adopt too narrow a view, I believe.

Answer: If you think that to proclaim the absolute superiority of the Lotus Sutra is to take too narrow a view, then one would have to conclude that no one in the world was more narrow-minded than Shakyamuni Buddha. I am afraid you are greatly mistaken in this matter. Let me quote from one of the sutras and from the commentary of one school, and see if I can resolve your confusion.

The Immeasurable Meanings Sutra says: “[Because people’s natures and desires are not alike], I preached the Law in various different ways. Preaching the Law in various different ways, I made use of the power of expedient means. But in these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth.”

Hearing this pronouncement, Great Adornment and the others of the eighty thousand bodhisattvas replied in unison, voicing their understanding that “[as for those living beings who are unable to hear this sutra . . . ] though immeasurable, boundless, inconceivable asamkhya kalpas may pass, they will in the end fail to gain unsurpassed enlightenment.”

The point of this passage is to make clear that, no matter how much one may aspire to the Buddha way by calling upon the name of Amida Buddha, or by embracing the teachings of the Zen school—relying on the sutras of the Flower Garland, Agama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods preached by the Buddha during the previous forty years and more—one will never succeed in attaining supreme enlightenment, even though a countless, limitless, inconceivable number of asamkhya kalpas should pass.

And this is not the only passage of this type. The “Expedient Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra states, “The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth.” It also says, “[In the Buddha lands of the ten directions] there is only the Law of the one vehicle, there are not two, there are not three.” These passages mean that only this [Lotus] sutra represents the truth.

Again, in the second volume it says, “I am the only person who can rescue and protect others.” And it speaks of “desiring only to accept and embrace the sutra of the great vehicle and not accepting a single verse of the other sutras.” These passages mean that only Shakyamuni Buddha can save and protect all living beings, and that one should wish to accept and uphold only the Lotus Sutra, and never even a verse from any other sutra.

It also says, “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world. . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell.”

This passage means that, if one does not believe in the Lotus Sutra but instead turns against it, one will immediately destroy the seeds for attaining Buddhahood in this world. After death, one will fall into the hell of incessant suffering.

Examining these passages, T’ien-t’ai concluded that it was statements such as these that had prompted the words, “Is this not a devil pretending to be the Buddha?” If we merely rely upon the commentaries of various teachers and do not follow the statements of the Buddha himself, then how can we call our beliefs Buddhism? To do so would be absurd beyond description!

Therefore, the Great Teacher Chisho stated that, if one claims that there is no division of Mahayana and Hinayana among the sutras and no distinction of partial and perfect among revelations of the truth, and therefore accepts all the words of the various teachers, then the preachings of the Buddha will have been to no purpose.

T’ien-t’ai asserted, “That which has a profound doctrine and accords with the sutras is to be written down and made available. But put no faith in anything that in word or meaning fails to do so.” He also said, “All assertions that lack scriptural proof are to be branded as false.” How would you interpret such statements?" (Questions and Answers on Embracing the Lotus Sutra)

Because Nichiren teaches that we should never accept offerings from slanderers, not even the offering of the Law:

"Neither Buddhas nor gods would ever accept contributions from those who slander the correct teaching. Then how can we human beings accept them? The deity of Kasuga Shrine proclaimed through an oracle that he would accept nothing from those with impure hearts, though he should have to eat the flames of burning copper; that he would refuse to set foot in their homes, though he should have to sit on red-hot copper. He would rather come down to a miserable hut with weeds choking the passageway, or to a poor thatched house. He declared that he would never visit persons lacking in faith, even if they hung sacred festoons for a thousand days to welcome him, but that he would go to a house where the people have a mind of faith, even though they might be in mourning for a parent. Lamenting that slanderers have overrun this country, the benevolent gods have abandoned it and ascended to heaven. “Those with impure hearts” means those who refuse to embrace the Lotus Sutra, as is stated in the fifth volume of the sutra. If the gods themselves regard alms from slanderers as more abominable than the flames of burning copper, how could we human beings possibly accept them? If someone were to kill our parents and then try to offer us some gift, could we possibly accept it? Not even wise persons or sages can avoid the hell of incessant suffering if they accept offerings from slanderers. Nor should you associate with slanderers, for if you do, you will share the same guilt as they. This you should fear above all.

Shakyamuni Buddha is the father, sovereign, and teacher of all the other Buddhas and all the gods, of the whole assembly of human and heavenly beings, and of all living beings. How could the heavenly gods and benevolent deities rejoice if the Buddha were killed? Today all the people of our country have proved to be enemies of Shakyamuni Buddha, but more than laymen or laywomen, it is the priests with perverse wisdom and hearts who are the Buddha’s worst enemies. There are two kinds of wisdom, correct and perverse. No matter how wise a person may appear, if his assertions are warped you should not listen to him. Nor should you follow priests merely because they are venerable or of high rank. But if a person has the wisdom to know the true meaning of the Lotus Sutra, no matter how lowly he may appear, pay respect to him and make offerings to him as though he were a living Thus Come One . Thus it is written in the sutra. That is why the Great Teacher Dengyō says that the men and women who believe in this sutra, even if they lack knowledge or violate the precepts, should be seated above priests who observe all two hundred and fifty precepts of the Hinayana teachings, and never be seated in a humble position, and that this is all the more true of the priests of this Mahayana sutra."

"President Ikeda is the culmination of the trinity of the Lotus Sutra, his two predecessors being Kumårajiva and Nichiren Daishonin." and "The Daisensei [Daisaku Ikeda] is the dynamic enlightenment of life, and we are the fields of action."- Lokesh Chandra Director, International Academy of Indian Culture, India

“Those who are capable of embracingthe Lotus of the Wonderful Lawrelinquish their claim to the pure landand out of pity for living beings are born here.Know that persons such as thesefreely choose where they will be born,and choose to be born in this evil worldso they may broadly expound the unsurpassed Law.”– Chapter 10 : The Teacher of the Law.

which governs every thing in this Universe.” -- The Brahman G. Ramachandran [who is wholly praised by The Ikeda Institute of Oriental Philosophy and Daisaku Ikeda]

What happened to the Buddhist teachings on an individual's thoughts, words, and deeds governing everything in the Universe? What happened to the Buddhist teachings on taking responsibility for both weal and woe? Ikedaism is not Buddhism, let alone Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism. They betray the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren for a few paltry words of praise from slanderers.

"Trying to learn Buddhism without a teacher is, perhaps, like trying to learn to play the piano well on one’s own." -- Jeffrey Ourvan author of The Star Spangled Buddhist and Director of the Toda Institute

Who should one take as teacher? Mr. Ourvan has taken Daisaku Ikeda as teacher. This is a serious mistake. Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren took the Law as their teacher. Only those who take the Law as teacher are qualified to be Buddhist teachers. Having encountered the Three Obstacles and Four Devils is proof that the teacher has taken the Law as teacher. Only the Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, and their disciples and believers are worthy of being called Buddhist teachers.

"Nichren Daishonin wrote more than a thousand letters and treatises but only 600 remain", ... Nagashima implying that we don't know everything that the Daishonin taught, therefore, the way SGI teaches is the way Nichiren taught. First, this is the logical fallacy Ad ignorantiam:

"The argument from ignorance basically states that a specific belief is true because we don’t know that it isn’t true. Defenders of extrasensory perception, for example, will often overemphasize how much we do not know about the human brain. It is therefore possible, they argue, that the brain may be capable of transmitting signals at a distance." -- Top 20 Logical Fallacies and this just happens to be number 1. [from The Skeptics Guide to the Universe].

More importantly, Nichiren Daishonin teaches,

"I would reply that, by looking at one thing, you can surmise ten thousand. This is what is meant by the statement that you can come to know all under heaven without ever going out of your garden gate. But a fool will have doubts, saying, “I have seen the sky in the south, but I have not seen the sky in the east or west or north. Perhaps the sky in those other three directions has a different sun in it from the one I know.” Or he will see a column of smoke rising up beyond the hills, and although the smoke is in plain sight, because he cannot see the fire itself, he will conclude that the fire may not really exist. Such a person is my questioner, an icchantika, or person of incorrigible disbelief, no different from a man with sightless eyes!"

Therefore, when we see one of Nichiren' Daishonin's clear statements about the identity of the original Eternal Buddha [Shakyamuni Buddha] from one of his most important writings, we know that he taught the same thing everywhere or we can see one hundred and fifty clear statements from the remaining Goshos and know what he taught in the missing Goshos.

If you should happen upon this lightweight's lecture, please also notice that he says nothing about Goshos that have proven to be forgeries, many of which are the very foundation of the Gakkai's phony Buddhism.

"Ex-General Director shared that there are hidden meanings in Sensei’s guidance. Different countries have to interpret it differently and have to read Sensei’s guidance between the lines. He also mentioned that to understand deeper meanings in Sensei Guidance, it has to depend on individual’s capacity" -- SGI Singapore Young Men's Leader

But Nichiren Daishonin teaches:

"...Great Teacher Dengyō elaborated on it as follows: “All the sutras of the first four periods preached in the past, the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra now being preached, and the Nirvana Sutra to be preached in the future are easy to believe and easy to understand. This is because the Buddha taught these sutras in accordance with the capacity of his listeners. The Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and to understand because in it the Buddha directly revealed what he had attained.

Question: Can you explain what he meant by that?

Answer: The ease of believing and understanding in the one case is due to the fact that the Buddha taught in accordance with the capacity of the people. And the difficulty of believing and understanding in the other case is due to the fact that he taught in accordance with his own enlightenment."

"When you chant the daimoku of this sutra, you should be aware that it is a more joyful thing than for one who was born blind to gain sight and see one’s father and mother, and a rarer thing than for a man who has been seized by a powerful enemy to be released and reunited with his wife and children." -- Nichiren

SGI Singapore members, on the other hand, have become so delusional thanks to the SGI teachings that instead of feeling an auspicious opportunity for great gain, they feel a sense of great loss. It is thanks to the warped and bizarre SGI teachings and their evil spiritual "friend" [Ikeda] that they have become nothing but whiny cry babies. Who in their right mind would choose a Nichikan Gohonzon over a Nichiren Gohonzon? Now that they are free from the oppressive teachings of Ikedaism, they have the rare opportunity to trade rocks [the Nichikan Gohonzon] for jewels [the Nichiren Gohonzon]. We will show them how.

Did Sensei err in appointing Mr. Williams and the General Director of Singapore?"There were also feedbacks on Ex-General Director doing things in his own way instead of following SGI guidelines and bringing members close to the mentor."

"He mentioned that the Japanese senior leaders were born close to Sensei in this lifetime because they did not receive strict training from Sensei in their past lives. In retrospect, we are born far away from our mentor because we had received strict training from our mentor in our past lives." -- Singpore SSA cult leader

"My wife says since she has been praying to the Denpo Gohonzon she has never been happier even though she has been cut off from the community. It just confirms how the joy of the Law is so much greater than the joy Group Dynamics that's here today and gone tomorrow. Just before we enshrined the Gohonzon my 2 daughters 25 and 22 were going to leave home, and my 20 year old son had already left, now they are all at home and everybody's lives are improving as in work, study and relationships

There is a peace and deep joy that permeates throughout the household that wasn't here before.

I have the Shutei (Beautiful Gohonzon) in my bedroom and the Denpo is in the lounge room. Gakkai members who have dared to visit us have seen them and all have been so impressed that they have now enshrined them in their homes, which has created a big stir witthin the SGI community, as word and mouth/ emails Facebook etc travel like fire.

Since Google recommended me to your blog, I feel like the legendary Phoenix that has risen from the ashes and is now soaring through the sky of eternal freedom. And I have now read all the NST Gosho's from 2 - 7 and am now reading the Burton Watson translation of the Lotus Sutra but at the same time being mindful of what you have said about them, and what I intuitively know about the errors of there ways

Thanks for leading Awareness campaign against the manipulators of Nichiren Buddhism. It has given many people who have been suffering in isolation from the oppression of these organisations a voice and hope when they realize that it isn't just ME who has been experiencing these problems

My wife is reading blogs from Japan everyday. She says, "There are so many heart breaking stories of depressed members that have committed suicide and a terrible dysfunction that is going on in families and society.

Soka Gakkai members who have started doubting the organisation have gone on to doubting Nichiren Buddhism all together and are now having a major identity crisis. It's only a matter of time before this starts happening in a big way throughout the rest of the world like it is in Japan . This blog also helps pick up some of the broken damaged pieces

There has never been a time when the need has become so great for people to know the real message of Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin that is based on the Lotus Sutra"

"All SGI members are Original Buddhas from the remotest past who function as Bodhisattvas of the Earth" -- Keiko "Kuku" Kubo SGI YWD National Leader

Apparently, there are original SGI Buddhas from the remotest past and ORIGINAL SGI BUDDHAS from the remotest past and that's why some SGI "Buddhas"seek guidance while other SGI "BUDDHAS" give guidance.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Someone wrote, explaining why Ikeda accepted the priests doctrines for so long: “Ikeda wanted to “fight” and argue for the correctness of his views but he was over-ruled by the other leaders, and saw that any fight would lead to mass defections of members and could well be a victory for authoritarianism, so he gave in. The leaders and members simply were convinced that if the priests said it was so it was so.”

The Lion of Soka gave in to his subordinates? He cared about mass defections? Do puppets control the puppet master? Soka puppets had no powers of discernment and were brainwashed by the Nichiren Shoshu priests? Can Bodhisattvas of the Earth possibly be brainwashed? Can the brainwashed possibly be Bodhisattvas of the Earth?

The SSA or Soka Singapore Association fails to heed Nichiren Daishonin and therefore, it is on the brink of self-destruction. Over what? A "temple", the Soka Peace Center.

Nichiren teaches:

"Dengyo lived at the end of the Middle Day of the Law, during the period described in the Great Collection Sutra as the age of building temples and stupas."

This age, however, is the age of the Essential Teachings....

"At that time the Buddha addressed Eminent Conduct and the host of other bodhisattvas: "The divine powers of buddhas are so infinite and boundless that they are beyond thought and expression. Even if I, by these divine powers, through infinite, boundless hundred thousand myriad kotis of asamkhyeya kalpas, for the sake of entailing it, were to declare the merits of this sutra, I should still be unable to reach the end of those [merits]. Essentially speaking, all the laws belonging to the Tathagata, all the sovereign, divine powers of the Tathagata, all the mysterious, essential treasuries of the Tathagata, and the very profound conditions of the Tathagata, all are proclaimed, displayed, revealed, and expounded in this sutra. Therefore you should, after the extinction of the Tathagata, wholeheartedly receive and keep, read and recite, explain and copy, cultivate and practice it as the teaching. In whatever land, whether it be received and kept, read and recited, explained and copied, cultivated and practiced as the teaching; whether in a place where a volume of the sutra is kept, or in a temple, or in a grove, or under a tree, or in a monastery, or in a lay devotee's house, in a palace or a mountain, in a valley or in the wilderness, in all these places you must erect a caitya and make offerings. Wherefore? You should know that [all] these spots are the thrones of enlightenment. On these [spots] the buddhas attain Perfect Enlightenment; on these [spots] the buddhas roll the wheel of the Law; on these [spots] the buddhas [enter] parinirvana." -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 21

Today, there are no designated special places to practice the Law, chant the Daimoku, worship the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. All places where the devotees receive and keep the Lotus Sutra is a special place.

The Sho Hondo was the most glaring example in the brief history of the Latter Age of designating a "special place" [before the time of the establishment of the High Sanctuary] and the Soka Gakkai continues to make similar mistakes in Washington DC, Atlanta, Singapore, and especially in Tokyo with the completed Ikeda Hall of the Great Vow. Can severe calamities fail to befall Washington, Atlanta, Singapore and Tokyo? Haven't these calamities already begun?

"...none of the Buddha images in the temples and pagodas of Japan, though their forms resemble that of the Buddha are really Buddhas in mind. Rather they have the minds of ordinary beings who live in the nine worlds." -- Nichiren

He goes on to say:

"The custom of revering ignorant teachers as though they were wise men began with this."

"Mark, you are a very unhappy man with a lot of bitterness in your life. first the true BUDDHA for this time (all time) is NICHIREN DAISHONIN he said so himself and you know he did. You want to rat out a lot of very nice folks who have BUDDHIST meetings everywhere in their homes for the sake of KOSEN RUFU with a pure heart and only good will for their communities. we are not a sect at all , we are common lay sgi members and you hate that . YOU CAN NOT WIN read the GOSHO PLEASE ~al~

Everyone loves a good rally. Tony Robbins has made tens of millions of dollars off feel good big and small rallies. SGI too puts on a great show for the members: Bands a playin’; motivational speakers, one after another; testimonials; banners and songs. “We are all Buddhas.” “SGI will make world peace a reality.” “Lets all destroy the evil Nikken sect.” But looking more closely (and one doesn’t need to look real close), the Emperor Ikeda and his minions, have no clothes. There is no substance. It is all smoke and mirrors or froth on the ocean. The bad thing is that in times of real crises, the members are lost, abandoned, and humiliated. The rally becomes a whisper of gossip and innuendo. “He is sick because he has weak faith.” “His wife left him because he never attended meetings.” “He is being punished for not following guidance.” The list goes on and on. The Lotus Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin, on the other hand, will never let you down. They will never abandon their children, they will ferry you across the great sea of suffering and will gently place you on the other shore. With the SGI at the helm, when you reach the last moment of your life, you will experience a myriad of regrets and sorrow. With Shakyamuni Buddha at the helm you will experience the joy of joys.

"I HAVE received two thousand coins from Musashi-bo Ennichi,1 whom you sent as a messenger. Kogyoku, the thirty-sixth in the line of sovereigns, was a woman. At that time, there was a minister named Iruka. He became so arrogant that he insanely took action to seize imperial power for himself. The empress, the princes, and others felt that this was outrageous, but they found themselves utterly powerless against him.

Then the princes Oe and Karu, deploring this state of affairs, consulted a court official named Nakatomi no Kamako, who said that he was convinced it was beyond human power to stop Iruka. He cited the example of Umako, and insisted that without the power of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, it would be impossible to stop him. Taking this to heart, they had an image of Shakyamuni Buddha fashioned and prayed to it, and in no time at all Iruka was struck down.

This man named Nakatomi no Kamako was later granted a new surname and became known as Fujiwara no Kamatari. He was appointed inner minister, bore the title of the rank Great Woven Cap, and was the founder of the present-day Fujiwara family. That image of Shakyamuni Buddha is the present-day object of devotion at Kofuku-ji temple. Thus Shakyamuni Buddha is the reason the emperor was emperor, the reason the minister was minister, and the reason this land of the gods became the land of the Buddha. Please understand this by comparing it with what I have written in my letter to Uemon no Tayu. The reason our country now faces the threat of subjugation to another nation is that people fail to pay the least attention to Shakyamuni Buddha. The power of the gods is also ineffective for this reason.

People have regarded the two of you as surely having already yielded, but you have acted in an admirable manner. You probably think this is solely due to the power of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra. I believe this also. No words can express the promise of your next existence. From now on too, no matter what may happen, you must not slacken in the least. You must raise your voice all the more and admonish [those who slander]. Even if your life should be threatened, you must not falter in the least.

shoninWith my deep respect,

Nichiren

The twenty-first day of the eighth month

SGI and NST fail to pay the least attention to Shakyamuni Buddha and therefore, they lack protection from the Buddhist gods, their wishes remain unfulfilled, and Japan faces certain ruin.

There are degrees of offense and degrees of merit. Smoking a joint on the New York subway will get you a violation while plotting and carrying out the murder of your spouse gets you life without parole. Hitting mud with your fist gets you dirty while hitting a rock with your fist gets you a fractured hand. Helping a little old lady across the street gets you a thank you while inventing a cure for leukemia gets you the Nobel Prize in medicine. In the realm of Buddhist Law, loving kindness leads one to the Brahma Heaven [repeated rebirth in the Realm of Rapture]. Defending the True Law leads to Buddhahood and rebirth in the realm of Buddha.

"Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in the Materials on this Site are those of the various Soka Gakkai staff members, consultants and advisers who prepared the work and do not necessarily represent the views of the Soka Gakkai, its affiliated organizations, or its membership.” — Words of Wisdom “OFFICIAL” SGI publication.

Nichiren's advice? Go to the source, the Lotus Sutra and his writings. In authentic Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism, the views of Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo-hon Chapter, Nichiren Daishonin, and their disciples and believers are official.

“It also says: “Evil monks, hoping to gain fame and profit, will in many cases appear before the ruler, the crown prince, or the other princes, and take it upon themselves to preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, will listen to and put faith in such doctrines, and proceed to create regulations that are perverse in nature and that do not accord with the rules of Buddhist discipline. In this way he will bring about the destruction of Buddhism and of the nation.” — On Dealing With Disasters

“The Great Collection Sutra says, “If he [the ruler of the state] sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, . . . his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences.” — ibid

“The Lotus Sutra states: “In that evil age there will be monks with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked who will suppose they have attained what they have not attained, being proud and boastful in heart. . . . These men with evil in their hearts . . . will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans, and householders, as well as the other monks, slandering and speaking ill of us, saying, ‘These are men of perverted views who preach non-Buddhist doctrines!’ . — ibid

“If we consider the matter in the light of these passages, we will see that evil monks fill the country and preach doctrines that lead to the destruction of the nation and the violation of the Buddhist Law. The rulers and the four kinds of Buddhist believers who live in that nation, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, listen to and put faith in their words. Therefore they reject and turn their hearts away from these Mahayana sutras.” — ibid

“Answer: The Benevolent Kings Sutra says: “Those persons who should uphold and guard the three treasures of Buddhism will on the contrary become the destroyers of the three treasures, just as it is the worms that are born from the body of a dead lion that will feed on the lion’s flesh. It will not be the non-Buddhists [but in most cases the Buddha’s own disciples who will destroy this Buddhist Law of mine].”

If we go by this passage, those who destroy the nation and the Buddhist Law will come from among the disciples of the Buddha.” — ibid

“Question: These evil monks who destroy the correct teaching—do they destroy it with a teaching that resembles the correct teaching, or do they destroy it with an evil teaching?” — ibid

“As these passages demonstrate, those who slander the Law fail to realize in full how their acts affect others and proceed to commit grave faults, bringing about the destruction of the nation and the destruction of the Buddhist Law.” — ibid

“Answer: The Benevolent Kings Sutra says: “Great King, in future ages the kings of the various small countries and the four types of Buddhist disciples19 [will of their own initiative commit faults of the type that bring about the destruction of their own nation]. . . . Evil monks . . . [preach doctrines that lead to the violation of the Buddhist Law and the destruction of the nation. The ruler, failing to perceive the truth of the situation, will listen to and put faith in such doctrines], and proceed to create regulations that are perverse in nature and that do not accord with the rules of Buddhist discipline.” It also says, “And he will not permit the making of Buddhist images or the building of Buddhist stupas.” It further says, “Then the seven disasters are certain to arise.”

The Golden Light Sutra states: “He neither makes offerings to it [the sutra], honors it, nor praises it. . . Then many different types of disasters will occur in the country.” The Nirvana Sutra speaks of those who “hate and despise the unsurpassed Great Nirvana Sutra.” — ibid

Question: If what you say is true, then why do persons who put their faith in the Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra or the True Word sutras encounter such disasters?

Answer: The Golden Light Sutra says: “The laws will be twisted until even the innocent are made to suffer.” The Lotus Sutra states, “They would bring unexpected disaster on him.”

Judging from these passages that have just been quoted, such practitioners of the Lotus Sutra and True Word teachings have not yet reached any very profound level of practice, their minds are still weak in faith, and though their mouths recite the words of the sutra, they do not yet understand their meaning; they recite them only for the sake of fame or gain. –ibid

GAIN [“Goodness, Beauty, and Gain”] — The heart of the SGI teachings.

“Answer: The forces of karma do not operate in fixed ways. There is what is called karma that manifests itself in one’s present existence. Describing such cases, the Lotus Sutra says that a person “will in his present existence be afflicted with white leprosy. . . . And he will suffer from . . . severe and malignant illnesses.” The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, they will have no filial sons, no harmony with their six kinds of relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities. Disease and evil demons will come day after day to torment them, disasters will descend on them incessantly, and misfortunes will dog them wherever they go.” And the Nirvana Sutra states: “If there are those who fail to put faith in this sutra, when they approach the time of death, they will encounter a world troubled by disorder, armed strife will break out, or they will find themselves the victims of the tyranny of rulers or the quarrels and contentions of warring families.”

Regarding the second type of karma, that which manifests itself in one’s next existence, the Lotus Sutra says, “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, . . . When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell.”26 And the Benevolent Kings Sutra states: “If persons destroy the teachings of the Buddha, . . . when they die, they will fall into the realms of hell, hungry spirits, and animals.” — ibid

Question: What can we do?

Answer: Do not give donations to the Soka Gakkai during the May Contribution Campaign. Nichiren Daishonin goes on to say in this treatise:

“Question: What is the quickest way to put an end to these disasters?

Answer: One must quickly take measures to deal with those who slander the Law. If this is not done, then although endless prayers are offered, they will not put an end to these disasters.

Question: What measures should be taken to deal with them?

Answer: The measures are indicated in the sutras. In the Nirvana Sutra we read, “The Buddha said, ‘With the exception of one type of person, you may offer alms to all kinds of persons. . . . [Persons of this one type] slander the correct teaching, and go on committing these grave acts. . . . With the exception of this one group of people called icchantikas, however, you may offer alms to all others, and everyone will praise you.’ ”

From this passage it is clear that one should take measures to see that no alms are given to persons of this type. In addition, there are many other measures to be taken, but I do not have time to discuss them all here.”

Answer: The Nirvana Sutra states: “Now I entrust the correct teaching, which is unexcelled, to the rulers, the ministers, the high officials, and the monks and nuns. If anyone should vilify the correct teaching, then the rulers, the ministers, and the four kinds of Buddhists should reprimand him and bring him to order. [In doing so, they] are not guilty of any fault.”

“Question: You yourself are a priest, and yet you are exposing the errors of other priests—is this not a blameful act?

Answer: The Nirvana Sutra says: “If even a good monk sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him, to oust him, or to punish him for his offense, then you should realize that that monk is betraying the Buddha’s teaching. But if he ousts the destroyer of the Law, reproaches him, or punishes him, then he is my disciple and a true voice-hearer.”

When I read this passage, it seems to me that, in order to avoid being condemned as a “betrayer of the Buddha’s teaching,” I must not be fearful of how others may judge my actions,…” ibid

“But if, having once perused what I have written, they do not carry out the measures recommended in the passages I have quoted, then how can they escape the fate described in the Great Collection Sutra when it says: “Though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, if he sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, then all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out, and his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences. . . . After his life has come to an end, he will be reborn in the great hell.”

The passage in the Benevolent Kings Sutra states, “If a time should come when the good fortune of these rulers runs out, . . . then the seven disasters are certain to arise.” And the passage in the Great Collection Sutra says that “though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, . . . all [the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned] will be entirely wiped out.” — ibid

“In view of these passages, should one not set aside all other affairs and consider first of all why these disasters occur? If one does not do so, then more and more such disasters are bound to occur!

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Mark: No Myoho renge kyo, no Buddhahood, no seed, no tree. Even those few Hindus, before the time of the Buddha that you trot out as having attained “Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment” have done so with the seed of Myoho renge kyo which was planted in their lives by the Buddha countless dust mote atoms ago.

You have attributed the cause of Enlightenment to one’s own efforts alone or to ethnogens. Those who achieve “Enlightenment” on their own are Pratyekkabuddhas or Men of Self Realization. There is not even a Buddhist category for those who claim to have achieved Enlightenment, whether partial or Pure and Perfect, through ethnogens or who advocate their use. Those who claim to be enlightened and believe it to be something other than Myoho renge kyo are deluded. These are not my own observations and assertions. They are the observations and assertions of Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren Daishonin didn’t say, “try practicing your way.” He said, “Try practicing as I do”! Your errors obviate even the teachings of the Historical Buddha, that of Dependent Origination. They also obviate a sense of gratitude. Who can a Man of Self Realization thank? Narrow and superficial is the Way of the World of Self Realization. I already discussed the masters of the game of telephone and they are not the Hinayana disciples.

Dave: You have an untenable position in all this, when you claim to worship Gautama. Most of the other characters in the Lotus Sutra are fictitious as well, with the possible exception of some of the historical disciples named in the Sutra–but even then the interactions are all invented as a literary device.

There is no direct teachings of Gautama buddha, appearing as any Mahayana Sutra although Mahayana does include some actual teachings of Gautama mixed in with the epic events.

Mark: Namu means to worship ["In worshiping all the deities and Buddhas, the word Namu is put ahead of their names." -- Nichiren]. We worship Myoho renge kyo and the Gohonzon. Then we have to ask ourselves, what is the nature and reality of the Gohonzon? Nichiren Daishonin teaches the Gohonzon in terms of the Person and in terms of the Law. We know the Law is Myoho renge kyo or Namu Myoho renge kyo [5 or 7 characters]. Who is the “Person” of the Gohonzon? Nichiren specifically teaches that it is Shakyamuni Buddha of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Three Bodied Tathagata, one of whose bodies is Shakyamuni Buddha of India. Generally Nichiren Daishonin teaches that the person of the Gohonzon is each one of us who chants Namu Myoho renge kyo and has faith in the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha. Never once have I heard the expression, Namu Buddha-nature nor Namu Buddha-wisdom from either Shakyamuni Buddha nor Nichiren Daishonin. Neither nature nor mind is the entirety of Buddha nor of man. Worshiping a disembodied Buddha-nature is the same as the Shingon worship of Dainichi Buddha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmak%C4%81ya.

Dave: Using a literal approach will always fail to discover the real meaning of the Sutra. Practice alone can show one the real truth and that will lead to an enlightenment where you no longer will be guessing about it and locked into literalism.

It is only indirectly about the debt owed to Gautama as a historical founder. One should have gratitude to all people who strove to teach the practice of Buddhism and who stayed true to the spirit of compassion and symbolically to all buddhas.

Mark: If you study the Gosho and Lotus Sutra, you know that Nichiren Daishonin believed in and reverenced a real and abiding Original Buddha.

“So read the thread Brother! And try chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! And please do me the personal favor of doing your best to spell it correctly. Even if you don’t understand why, please understand that some of us think it really important to tell you that.” — SGI leader Thomas Pass the Doobie

“And when the two characters for namu are prefixed to Myoho-renge-kyo, or the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, we have the formula Namu-myoho-renge-kyo.” — The Opening of the Eyes

Yet, there are those who claim that they follow Nichiren Daishonin but they chant Nam Myoho renge kyo. If they can’t even follow Nichiren on this most basic and important matter of the One Great Secret Law, how can we trust them that they follow Nichiren on any less important matters?

Men and women both have some unlucky ages, and Yaku-yoke (driving away evil) is a ritual to prevent misfortunes to happen at these ages. Hon-yaku for men is 25 years of age and Tai-yaku is 42 years. For women, Hon-yaku is 19 and 33 years and Thai-yaku 37 years. These ages often coincide with critical points in life. For example, 25 years for men and 19 for women are ages for marriage and having a baby, and for many women 33 years is about the age to have the last child. Men at 42 years have the heaviest responsibility as the head of a family. They are at critical points both in terms of social and physical status and have a lot of stress.

People turning to an unlucky age have a Yaku-doshi (Yaku-otoshi, Yaku-yoke) during the new year or on their birthday. During the visit, they throw away a handkerchief or something they wear for Yaku-otoshi (dropping the evil spirit), or wear a lucky charm or something in the pattern of snake scales. There are temples that are famous for Yaku-yoke prayers and have lots of visitors.

We can ship this Omamori to every where all over the would.

Please let us know the quantity you need.

Mounted Omamori (charm)・・・・・

A sandalwood bracelet・・・・・

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Dave: “Mark, the Shakyamuni you are worshipping is not the Gautama from India. It is a fictional Shakyamuni, symbolically created by the authors of the Lotus Sutra, who were trying to enlighten people to their own Eternal Buddha nature.”

Mark: Lets just throw out one of the bodies of the Three Bodied Tathagata [the Manifestation Body]. Good. Now, that fits nicely with your reshaping of the Nichiren faith.

Dave: The reality these authors knew for themselves from their own enlightenment. The Shakyamuni of the Lotus Sutra is a story of how a person can attain buddhahood and how he realized that the Buddhahood he attained, was not just a recent occurance (under the bodhi tree), but that Eternal Buddhahood is within all beings.

Mark: If Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin never taught you this [through Myoho renge kyo], you would be a wandering mendicant.

Dave: i know you think this connection to Shakamuni is important and it is important, but if interpreted the wrong way you miss the real point.

Mark: We interpret our connection to Shakyamuni Buddha exactly as Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren didn’t revere a disembodied Buddha like Dainichi or Buddha-nature. He revered The Three Bodied Tathagata Shakyamuni, as do we.

Dave: Gautama was a regular person who dicovered how to have the experience of enligtenment. Worshipping him was never his teaching anymore then worshipping Nichiren, was Nichiren’s teaching. Both taught the law.

Mark: Kobo too called Shakyamuni Buddha [of the Juryo Chapter of the Lotus Sutra] an ordinary person: “In his Precious Key to the Secret Treasury he [Kobo] claims that the Shakyamuni Buddha of the ‘Life Span’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra is an ordinary person,…” — The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Dave: In the context of Nichiren dealing with a country of weirdos who worshipped imaginary, fictional buddhas, he pointed back to Shakayamuni a real historical person. he had to break the bad habit of worshipping imaginary beings who would forver be greater then the common mountain folk.

Mark: All of Nichiren’s tears in gratitude for Shakyamuni Buddha, just a teaching device, not real tears, crocodile tears? You are cold Dave…and reading too much into a simple religion based largely on gratitude. Shakyamuni Buddha was Nichiren Daishonin’s teacher [and yours], more important than either sovereign or parent, according to Nichiren. The true votaries of the Lotus Sutra are uncommon mountain folk.

Dave: Scouring the gosho for ways to try to refute this is pointless. Nichiren either did not know the Lotus Sutra wasn’t direct from Shakyamuni or wasn’t saying. I believe he had a good idea about it though, based on various statements he made.

Mark: No teachings of the Buddha were directly from Shakyamuni Buddha. Those who put the Lotus Sutra into words were more Enlightened and better at the game of telephone than the others. They were more faithful, disciplined, and had better memories. That is one reason the present day votaries too experience hatred and jealousy. The best among us, Nichiren Daishonin, remembered the teachings he received from Shakyamuni Buddha in the remote past and again at the Ceremony in the Air on Vulture peak. But of course, if we are to believe you, unlike real tears, Nichiren was lying or merely using a teaching device. Thankfully, it is a free country and you are entitled to believe your mind as the source [of Myoho renge kyo]. We believe it was the Buddha’s mind. We thank Shakyamuni Buddha and you thank yourself. Whose view is superior and whose inferior? Whose view is based on reality and whose on wishful thinking? Whose is based on ego and whose view is based on egolessness? Whose is based on gratitude and whose is based in the World of Anger? Whose view is based on the Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin and whose is not?

Dave: Were it really the case that the historical Buddha was what Nichiren worshipped, then why inscribe a gohonzon, using Ichinen Sanzen as a basis? Ichinen Sanzen was not taught by Gautama and does not appear in the Lotus Sutra, except when interpreted in the light of Ichinen Sanzen. Gautama had taught dependant origination, but did not go further.

Nichiren had his own awakening. So did Tientai. They both knew the Sutra does not teach Ichinen Sanzen directly. Instead they used Ichinen Sanzen as a way to interpret the core of the Lotus Sutra.

Mark: You confuse theoretical and actual Ichinen Sanzen. Actual Ichinen Sanzen is the Buddha himself, the Three Bodied Tathagata specifically, and those who realize their relationship to him generally. The Three Bodied Tathagata, one of whose bodies is the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, is best represented by Gohonzon. Gohonzon itself is Actual Ichinen Sanzen. Since Gohonzon too exists within, no external Gohonzon is actually necessary and there are other ways to represent the Eternal Buddha and the Ceremony In the Air.

"And what I resent most is the fact that arose within the Soka Gakkai, that is, the absolute sanctity of oneness of mentor and disciple in Buddhism almost came to be taken as a relative, not absolute, value." -- Soka Spirit leader

“A teaching is not necessarily worthy of honor simply because its practitioners are respected. It is for this reason that the Buddha laid down the principle, ‘Rely on the Law and not upon persons.’” -- Nichiren

80% Ikeda commentary tangential to the treatise with praise for SGI and the mentor.

90% use of early or inauthentic Gosho to explain the Major Works, for example, Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime [1260] to explain The Selection of the Time [1274] rather than The Selection of the Time to explain minor, early, or inauthentic Gosho.

"Answer: Are those who have received the teachings directly from their teacher invariably free from error, while those who appear in later ages and examine and clarify these teachings are to be regarded as worthless? If so, then should we throw away the sutras and instead rely upon the four ranks of bodhisattvas? Should a person throw away the deed of transfer received from his father and mother and instead depend upon oral transmissions?” — Nichiren

"From my own experience, that takes a lot of guts. It really helps to have a mentor; rather, it is essential to have a good teacher, an ideal mentor, such as President Ikeda, who can teach us the fundamentals. We're lucky to have him as a teacher; don't you think?

It may take some time, but the idea of mentor/disciple is already becoming clear to a multitude of youth throughout the world, and the concept will eventually sink in, even to those who now boast that they can face the three obstacles and four devils on their own, without any help from others. Such an idea is a great delusion, a major hindrance, to bringing out our full potential, Buddhahood." -- SGI leader

“Never forgive the base enemies of the Buddha, never! Be unremitting in your battle against them! Fight through to the end against the scheming verbal violence that seeks to undermine the Kosen Rufu movement, upholding in your hearts the slogan 'Adamantly Fight Back!'". — Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda, message to the Saitama Youth Division

“Raising one member to become happy is the key to victory” really means, "indoctrinate one person into the Soka Gakkai and we will have a source of free labor and income far into the future, our salaries and pensions secure".

“The fundamental reason for falling into hell can be traced to arrogance, the essence of which is jealousy and contempt for the mentor.” -- Tammy Frazier, SGI Vice National Young Woman’s Division Leader and National Student Division Leader

"In the same way, the donations made by people today may seem impressive, but they are offerings of fiefs won in battle, or of wealth gained by heedlessly oppressing the people. Though these gifts appear to be great acts of devotion to the Buddha, not only will the people who offer them fail to attain Buddhahood, but their contributions will vanish without a trace.

"Again, even if one does no harm to others and honestly strives to make offerings, there will be cases in which one does not attain Buddhahood. To illustrate, if one plants good seed in a bad field, the seed itself will be ruined, and one will in turn suffer loss. Even if one is sincere, if the person to whom one makes offerings is evil, those offerings will fail to produce benefit; rather, they will cause one to fall into the evil paths."

“Again I say you are real a mean person who has an ax to grind against the good people of S.G.I. You are just tooo smart and like the attention you get. You must be an old N.S.A. member that thinks ya got screwed out of a position in the 80′s. Get over it." -- SGI member

"After asking ourselves these questions, we came up with a question for our region’s central focus for this campaign: “If Sensei were to come to LA North on October 2, what breakthrough would I share with him?” This is the question so many youth are now asking themselves." -- The disciples of Daisaku Ikeda

"World-honored One! After the extinction of the Buddha, in this land where the transformed body of the World-honored One exists, we will widely preach this sutra. Wherefore? [Because] we also wish to obtain this truly Great Law not cherishing bodily life nor vainly pursuing breakthroughs in our lives." -- The original disciples of the Buddha from the most distant past, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth [Lotus Sutra Chapter 21]

"The followers of the True Word school in particular make it a point to emphasize worldly benefits exclusively..."

"...they conduct prayers not only to satisfy the amorous passions of man and woman, but also to fulfill desires for manors and the like. They claim such trifling results as wondrous benefits. However, if they are going to assert the supremacy of the True Word [SGI] teachings on these grounds, they are no match for the non-Buddhists" -- Nichiren

Under the guise of unofficial spokespersons, the SGI has their low level leaders and members do their slander and dirty work for them. This way they can distance themselves later should their surrogates disgrace the SGI through their ignorance, smear tactics, and failures in Buddhist debate.

On the contrary, every disciple and believer of Nichiren is an official spokesperson for the Lotus Sutra, Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin. There can never be an official and an unofficial perspective as long as one is indeed a disciple and believer of Nichiren. Actually, there is not an an official and unofficial SGI perspective. If you are an SGI member and disciple of president Ikeda, you represent the SGI whether SGI labels your view official or unofficial. Do not be fooled. They can’t have it both ways. We will force them to take responsibility for their words and deeds.

"...if the slightest illusory idea lurks in the depths of one's life, prompting one to accept the claims of those who denounce the Soka Gakkai, this is entirely reversing the correct order of things. Such a mind is immersed in illusion or ignorance, which develops into a cause to experience the sufferings of hell and closes the path to one's enlightenment." --Daisaku Ikeda

David responds:

"So, the mere act of "accepting" the claims of "those who denounce the Soka Gakkai" is the act of "a mind immersed in illusion or ignorance"...which develops into a cause to experience the sufferings of hell and closes the path to one's enlightenment."

We are relieved of the responsibility to judge arguments against the Gakkai based on their merits. Simply to accept an argument against the Gakkai, any argument, no matter how well documented, is the result of our own ignorance and instantly sends us to hell while closing the path to Buddhahood.

Anyone who even considers criticism of the Gakkai based on the evidence offered has already condemned oneself to Hell. The only path to enlightenment is absolute unquestioned and unbridled support for any action taken by the Gakkai.

The Mystic Law is timeless and boundless. Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism is more than 750 years old and Soka Gakkai "Buddhism" is 80 years old. By their reasoning, Enlightenment could only be realized within the last 80 years and only among a select group of individuals. This indeed is faulty logic and patently untrue.

In order to ensure that their Gosho and Gohonzon are reverenced with sufficient loftiness, they attribute them to Nichiren. Sometimes also, in order to win a debate and more often, especially in the case of the Nichiren Shoshu, to amass believers and donations.

"It is like, for example, a mere commoner who goes about proclaiming that he is a king. There is nothing to stop him from declaring himself to be a king. But no matter how his tongue may delight in making such a declaration, he remains no more than a commoner, humble and despised in station.

Or it is like someone insisting that mere shards and rubble are in fact jewels. Simply declaring that stones and shards are jewels has never once turned stones into real jewels. And you are doing the same thing when you go on repeating the formula “This very body is the Buddha,” mere words that have no reality behind them, a pitiful, a most pitiful performance!" -- Nichiren

"You should keep using their own words again and again in this fashion to drive them into a corner. However, since they lack all learning, they will not listen to reason. They cannot understand the reasoning of others, nor do they understand the flaws in their own reasoning; they are persons of benighted comprehension. And since they refuse to bow to reason, addressing them is like trying to paint a picture on flowing water."

“Now , when the Eternal Buddha was revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra, this world of endurance (Saha-world) became the Eternal Pure Land, indestructible even by the three calamities of conflagration, flooding, and strong winds, which are said to destroy the world. It transcends the four periods of cosmic change: the kalpa of construction, continuance, destruction and emptiness. Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lord-preacher of this pure land, has never died in the past, nor will He be born in the future. He exists forever throughout the past present and future. All those who receive His GUIDANCE are one with this Eternal Buddha.” -- The True Object of Worship

“Since Sakyamuni Buddha is eternal and all other Buddhas in the universe are his manifestations, then those great bodhisattvas converted by manifested Buddhas are also disciples of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha. If the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter had not been expounded, it would be like the sky without the sun and moon, a country without a king, mountains and rivers without gems, or a man without a soul. nevertheless, seemingly knowledgeable men of such provisional schools of Buddhism as Ch’eng-kuan of the Hua-yen, Chia-hsiang of the San-lun, Tz’u-en of the Fa-hsiang, and Kobo of the shingon tried to extoltheir own canons by stating: “The Lord of the Flower Garland Sutra represents the reward-body (hojin) of the Buddha wheras that of the Lotus Sutra the accomodative body (ojin);” or “the Buddha in the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus is an Illusion; it is the great Sun Buddha who is enlightened.” clouds cover the moon and slanderers hide wise men. When people slander, ordinary yellow rocks appear to be of gold and slanderers seem to be wise. Scholars in this age of decay, blinded by slanderous words, do not see the value of a gold in the “Lifespan of the Buddha” chapter. Even among men of the Tendai school some are fooled into taking a yellow rock for gold. They should know that if Sakyamuni had not been the Eternal Buddha, there could not have been so many who received GUIDANCE from Him.” -- The Opening of the Eyes

Damn I thought this was the one with the statues in it. I only like statues

Written by L about 3 days ago.

It’s interesting how Mark cannot escape from his Puritanical conditioning. I.E. the ultimate truth of Buddhism is that there is an eternal messiah / God?!

Written by Mark Rogow about 3 days ago.

Sorry you guys hate the real Nichiren. Now go watch some Ikeda videos.

Written by L about 3 days ago.

And of course you do know the “real Nichiren”! That’s why you are a member of a fringe sect. Makes sense.

Written by Mark Rogow about 3 days ago.

We do know the real Nichiren. We live the Sutra. SGI quantity versus quality criteria for a true sect isn’t Buddhism and certainly, SGI isn’t Lotrus Sutra Buddhism since elements of Shingon and Zen permeate the SGI faith and practice. SGI is an abomination of Nichiren’s teachings. Now go read the Human Revolution and watch an Ikeda video marathon.